SAN FRANCISCO — Bay Area billionaire philanthropist Herb Sandler, who was among those blamed for the 2008 mortgage meltdown that triggered the financial crisis, has edged back into the spotlight thanks to the WikiLeaks hacking of the email account of Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta.

The hacked emails from Podesta show a close relationship between the wealthy Clinton donor and longtime Clinton confidante, who worked as the Sandler Foundation’s grant consultant for the past 21 months.

Sandler, former co-CEO of Oakland-based Golden West Financial Corp. and World Savings Bank, made billions at his savings and loan company before its sale to Wachovia Bank in 2006. Sandler, and his late wife Marion, have been criticized for their role in the 2008 financial crisis, even making Time’s list of 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis.

Within the cache of emails released by WikiLeaks on Monday was a contract signed in February 2015 between Podesta and the Sandler Foundation, the charity started by Herb Sandler and his late wife Marion. Podesta received $7,000 a month to “consult with the Foundation on philanthropic grantmaking opportunities and help advise the Foundation’s grantees from time to time.”

The revelation highlights a complicated role for Podesta, who is serving in several roles as the chairman of Clinton’s campaign, the consultant on grantmaking opportunities for the Sandler Foundation and as a coordinator of donations from Sandler to the Clinton campaign and super PACs supporting her.

A day after a meeting with Sandler in December, Podesta emailed the campaign’s finance team that Sandler was “ready to do the 2016 max early in the New Year … (he) is also prepared to double down on his Priorities support as well.”

Sandler has donated $706,800 to the Hillary Victory Fund and has contributed $4 million to Priorities USA, the primary super PAC supporting Clinton’s campaign, this election cycle. Sandler donated $1.5 million of that a day after Podesta met with Sandler in San Francisco in December 2015.

On Jan. 1, Sandler forwarded Podesta an email from the Hillary for America finance committee celebrating $112 million in primary contributions, saying “Are you satisfied? Happy New year.”

Podesta’s contract with the Sandler Foundation is still in effect, according to Politico, which broke the story Tuesday. Sandler told Politico that he has “never asked for anything of any political person — zero requests ever. If they’re responsive, it’s because they regard me as thoughtful and a major contributor to Democratic causes.”

Federal election laws prohibit campaigns from coordinating with super PACs on their expenditures, but there aren’t as tough regulations surrounding raising funds.

The WikiLeaks database shows Sandler sending numerous emails to Podesta of news items he is reading, from income inequality to an article questioning the relevancy of Nicki Minaj’s butt, but there is no evidence of coordination on issues within the Clinton campaign.

At one point, Podesta and members of the Center for American Progress discuss pushing back on a Saturday Night Live sketch that lampoons Herb and Marion Sandler as having profited and partially caused the 2008 recession through predatory lending practices.

The couple earned $2.4 billion off the sale of Golden West Financial, which pioneered the option adjustable-rate mortgage that was dubbed the “Typhoid Mary” of the mortgage industry by the New York Times.

Herbert Sandler and John Podesta did not respond to requests for comment.

Aaron Davis reports on East Contra Costa County for the Bay Area News Group. He has worked for papers throughout the Seacoast of New Hampshire, as well as in Queens, New York and in Amarillo, Texas. Send tips to 408-859-5105 or to aarondavis@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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